CARNET
First and most important aspect of the trip is to obtain a Carnet (admission Temporary Admission Carnet). The Carnet is an international customs document which allow goods, including vehicle that are exported temporarily and then re-imported. By presenting Carnet document to foreign customs, you pass duty free and import tax
free into a carnet country for up to one year. Carnets provide for goods/motor vehicles to be taken temporarily into or out of the EU for purposes such as exhibiting at a trade fair or taking part in a motor sport without having to complete the customs declarations and formalities normally required. Their use is not mandatory but where they’re available they simplify customs clearances in dispatching and receiving countries that are party to the Carnet or Istanbul Conventions.
History of the Carnet
The Carnet, a tool for International Trade Facilitation.
In 1961, the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) - forerunner of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) - adopted the "Customs Convention on the Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods".
International Customs Conventions in force.
Operating under the Convention, which entered into force on 30th July 1963, The Customs conventions corresponding to the three main categories of goods covered by the system are:
Commercial samples - The GATT International Convention to facilitate the importation of commercial samples and advertising material (Geneva 1952):
Professional equipment - The CCC's Customs Convention on the temporary importation of professional equipment (Brussels 1961)
Goods for presentation or use at trade fairs, shows, exhibitions or similar events - The CCC Customs Convention concerning facilities for the importation of goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events (Brussels 1961).
These various Conventions are progressively being replaced by one single international Customs Convention on temporary admission named the WCO Istanbul Convention.
Over the years, the Carnet system has spread from just a few West European countries to most of the industrialised world, including a growing number of developing countries and emerging economies.
More than 175,000 Carnets are issued every year covering goods valued at more than £16 billion.